The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-07-23
ROMANCES OF THE ROCKIES
Something About Several Who Have
Let Millions Slip Away from Them.
Morrisseys Career-An Illiterate Who Might
Have Been Worth Several Fortunes-Bad
Luck of Some of Leadville's Pioneers
Denver Letter in st. Louis Globe Democrat.

the owner of Montana Regent and other fast
stock Notwithstanding the seizure and sale of
his horses has been pretty generally advertised.
and to this last must be added the seizure of the
Carbonate Bank building in Leadville, his prop
erty on Capitol Hill in this City. his heavily in
numbered ranch in this neighborhood, and his
interest in the Connemara mine at Aspen, all OF
which have been levied upon by his creditors.
Morrssey S former associates here say sit is
good enough for him, :" as he had no business to
go into horse-racing, about which business he
knew no more than knows of integral
calculus. He is dead broke, and his
old partner, Diamond 10 Reynolds has gone
back on him, and the chances that John.
who is still young man-being not more than
thirty fve-a strong. handsome. dashing fellow,
six feet in height. will be back in Leadville,
looking for something to do, many another
Cooradoan who struck it rich" has been obliged
to do in late years. Morrissy not only made his
money in mining in Colorado, but he is a type of
the illiterate, ignorant almost boorish class of
men who went into Leadville eight or nine years
ago and came out of the camp milliouaires. He
is one of the many whose lives hung the
thread of romance, full of glitter and brilliancy
want at another. Lucky fellows these have
been called but nearly all of them have
had similar history to Morrisseys That
history begins in the howell. leads to
the palace. and drags the subject
through the dregs of enjoyment and the
shreds of fading brilliancy to the door of the
aimshouse Few of them survive the bewilder-
ing ntoxication of sudden wealth and live to
realize the bonanzafed royalty OF John W. Mac
kay. Very few get more than two or three
years of pleasure out of their fortunes; nearly
all let the thousands and hundreds of thousands
slip through their fingers, and often the hand
that once held millions Is tremblingly stretched
out to friend to receive eleemosynary dime
quarter There dozens of rafting ro-
mances of this kind among the traditions of the
Rockies and propose to rescue one or two OF
them, and TO tell the readers of the Globe-Demo-
crat what know about Morrissey's career, the
manner in which he made his money and the
sort of man he was generally.
Like Peter Finnerty, who recently died at
Waukesha, Wis, Morrissey could neither read
write and thereby hang some very ridcul-
Gus stories His real name, L have heard. is
Morris. and it is asserted that he comes of a
family of pig jobbers,' as dealers in hogs were
called in the old country. none of whom could
read or write; nevertheless. they were all big.
brawny fellows in their way, and the worst Of
Jacks frends-they call him Jack out here
agree that he had good two story head on him
that WAS full of brains and held very little, if
any. mush. He came from Connaught and was
rather strapping greenhorn when he landed in
Colorado He first arrived at any
sort of eminence in Georgetown, in 1876,
when he and Diamond Joe took lease
the Big Elephant in which they made some.
but very much money When the
Leadville excitement broke out Morrissey
headed in that direction, and Diamond 10 and
Col. Gilbert. now dead. backed him. He got
nolQ or the u Donovan hOSSa at Leadvllle and q
large group of claims in Summit county, be-
tween Robinson and kokomo. The ODonovan
Rosa developed into a water hole. AS man
expressed it, Jack tapped the Atlantic ocean,
but couldn't ferry himself back to Connaughtn
Diamond 10 and his partner uEloaded on a lot of
railroad men at Chicago and got out of the deal
even. The group of claims in Summit county
fzzled with the death of Col. Gilbert, and Nor
rissey was left on his uppers in Leadville, with
nothing TO do and Ovid Dimind." as he called
10 Reynolds. sos. 900 out of pocket by
his investment This in the summer
of 49, About the time the owners
of the Crown Point and Pinnacle, having become
financially en- EMBARRASSED. gave option on their
properties Nies Larsen for $40, 900. Larsen
took in Will Chadbourne. of St. Louis. John D.
Morrissey, and others, all of whom Morrssey
bought out for a small amount. Before the bond
expired in October, 1883, Diamond 10 paid $40
600 for the properties with nothing in sight but
a body of of too low grade to be proitably
worked Reynolds nut in $4,000 worth of ma
chnery, and tried hard to make the mines pay.
1t was about this time that Morrissev could be
found at the smelters most any day, raising
merry Cain because the men who had charge of
the smelter couldn'e make the low grade ore
pay They would hand Jack paper
who didn't understand anything on ]
paper would simply swear and away disap-
pointed and dissatisfied. After while 10 and
Jack struck $l75 to $3.50 ore and Reynolds
got back all the money he had invested. He
decided Morrssey quarter interest in the mines
and for year and half they were constant
producers, $780, 900 to $780, 900 above expenses be-
ing taken OUT in this period Morrissey man
ager; James Healey, superintendent, and Il. H.
Duffey ook-kesper. Eight or nine months ago
Diamond 10 hurried out to Leadville and
bounced the whole outfit. There was something
wrong. and it is said Diamond 10 made Morris
sey deed him back the interest he had given him
to get square for certain mlsman agement in con-
nection with the mine. The Crown Point and
Pinnacle paid over 81, 600 000 and Morrissey is
asserted to have been worth at one time nearly
half million. Curious tales told about
Jacks inability to read write In the early
DAYS he was superintendent OF the Bouder's
Nest mine at Central City, and one fine August
afternoon he walked into the Teller House to
get a room. The clerk handed him a pen.
Jack looked at him. What the pen forl
To write his name in the register, the clerk
planned.
..Arrah write it yerser" said Jack. rubbing
his hands and blowing his fingers. Me fists is
froze and kudn't how'd pin. Put down John
D. Morrssey, Eshkwoire, superintindint av the
Bowlder's Nisht. an tnatll do"
The clerk smiled and wrote the name. They
had smallpox in Leadville in '19. One day
was very deep in the street. and painter in the
basement of the postofice building made big
sign, Keep off the grass" and playfully stuck
it in a snow bank Somebody called Morrisseys
attention to the sign as he passed, and he looked
and said, "Yes, be jabers, small pox-ain't it
too bad!" Jack had a friend who read his letters
for him when he was managing the Crown Point
and Pumach. His habit when he received
letters call at his friends Office and, throwing
down the letters, nonchalantIy to remark,
There you ar See fwhat ovid Dimond has
to say to-day" If the friend wasted any time
in looking over the letter Jack would say no
matter who or how many were present, Read
it out aud let IL all hear fwhat he has say"
Then the letter would be read aloud and every
body would be acquainted with its tents
Although Jack was lllterate himself, he
ambitious to marry woman who knew some
thing about letters. Accordingly he secured
winsome little lass in Summit county and sent
her to St. Marys Academy, Denver. intending
to make her Mrs. j. d. Morrsey when she be-
old enough. The girl was sent school
three years, when Jack suddenly lost nterest in
her. He found she had other suitors for her
hor9 ando ,Srhf Lrol-0 nf thno0
suitors lay in wait for Jack and beat him with
clubs and shot him through the right lung. He
tor ten DAYS at the point of death. but final
~ recovered and married a school teacher named
Mollie Brannon. Tim Foley is another
man who has had his hundreds of
thousands, and is fiat broke in Denver. He
got his first start in the famous Aztec on the
Maxwell land grant. Out of this he took some
$50, 900. He kept store in California Gulch be-